Utah State Fair Here I Come!!

My hubby and I were just talking about this September's schedule. Yes I know, we are way ahead of the game, but my hubby likes to plan ahead. He asked me about Peach Days in Brigham city, which I had said would be fun to go to. I love peaches don't you?? Well, wouldn't you know it, Cathy from the Utah State Fair called me to confirm my being a working artist in the Creative Arts building the first Saturday of the Fair, September 11th. I will be there from 2-8 pm sculpting on gourds, with several to share hopefully. I'm so excited! What great exposure for me, and a good opportunity to show others what can be done with gourds. I've been told by gallery owners to not share how I do what I do, but hey, someone will come along and see my creations and try to copy them anyway. This happens a lot in Utah, but their style will be different and I have the advantage of more experience. I hope what I do will inspire someone to try something new. Sooooo, unless we get up really early to run to Brigham City, we will have to pass on Peach Days this year. Perhaps next year. Utah has so many fun things to do, such as the Greek Festival, which will be the same weekend we will be at the fair. The food is to die for, and the dancers are fabulous. So Utah State Fair, here I come! I hope to see some of you there!

A Fishy WIP

Sometimes you see something so cool you want to try to make it for yourself. A dear friend and I are working on a fish wall hanging for her as she saw one she fell in love with. We put this one together as a team, but she wants to make another one with me just supervising. It will be fun to see what she ends up with. This handsome salmon will be sectioned where the deep lines are and hung from copper wire with beads and driftwood between each section. We are waiting for the top to dry enough to flip this over and take the mold out so the back can dry. We call ourselves the 2 Portugees as we both have Portuguese ancestors. Who woulda thought I could come to Oregon and meet someone I could call my sister in blood....lol.

Traveling Doll WIP for PWGL

My second attempt at a cloth and clay doll. She has been a lot of fun to create, so I will have to make more.

I hand painted the petals on her so that she could have a two tone look. She will hang as well as sit. You can see more of her at our PWGL blog. She will be on her way shortly to be dressed and readied for our charity auction. As always, thanks for stopping by!
As an addition to this I really need to give credit where it is due. Annie of Chickadee Primitives created the doll body, and Susan of Prim and Proper Folks will be dressing this doll.  Take a moment to stop by and see what these talented ladies do. Thanks!

The Secret.......

He won a ribbon...yay! And he sold! Whoohoo! I have several folks looking at these and asking for more. It sure is nice to have such positive feedback. :-)

I have a secret.....

Today we helped hang and place the art for the show this weekend. I have a little secret that can't be revealed until tomorrow night, but it's good news for sure. I had a lot of great comments on this piece although it was mentioned that perhaps next time I let some of the natural gourd show through so I will have to ponder that for the next go round.
I worked with two great people in placing and hanging art. The fella who worked with Michelle and I commented at the end of the day on how refreshing it was to work with folks that didn't have an agenda, over blown egos, or anything like that...lol. It was very satisfying to help place pieces where they would look the best. I look forward to doing this again next year.

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts Bushel of Apples Done!

Can I say, Hallelujah!!!! Time has flown this year as usual, and it's been so crazy! I fought the good fight though and won the battle over time versus life and finally finished this piece. I actually started this painting last summer, but the initial layers of paint were so scary I didn't think I could pull it out. I saw the painting sitting on my shelf last week and decided that by hook or by crook I was going to conquer this challenge and here's the result.

I love to use the gallery wrap canvases as they are a fun challenge to paint around. Funny thing, when I started this painting I was going to try and be loose and free flowing with my painting to make more of an impressionistic painting. The realist in me kept coming out though. So now I need to find a matte and frame for my donation piece for the silent auction part of the show this weekend.

No, this is not a painting, it's a photo I took. I love the vibrant colors and the black center so this or a similar one may end up as a painting later on. Should be a fun challenge!

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts WIP Done!

Talk about a journey! I've never sculpted a horse head before but had looked at my goose neck gourd knowing it was destined to be one. I started out with a vision of the head looking like carved stone, with a base that had a tooled leather look to it along with an oxidized copper background for the tooled leather. Sometimes things don't always end up the way I start and this was certainly no exception.

After adding the floral flourishes, I realized that it wasn't quite the way I had envisioned, so I decided to blend the top and base together. So I thought I would try a bronzed look with a leather look base. After putting the first layer of the bronzing technique on, I had another thought come to me. So I tried burnishing the floral design with an antique gold, which really made the bronze too pink or well just not right.

I was getting discouraged and had all sorts of wild ideas running through my mind. After antiquing over the bronze to give it some definition and a more realistic look, I took some Champagne metallic paint and dry brushed over the gold. It toned down the gold and changed the whole feel of the piece. So I'm done! No more fussing, and lot's of lessons learned. I would really love to do another horse head or two, using my previous ideas but in a different way. Now I need to come up with a name. We've jokingly titled it El Caballo de Calabaza, perhaps that might stick!

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts WIP continued

I got my clay order very fast so now I'm up and running again, getting the leather tooling design look on the base of my horse sculpture. I suppose I could pyrograph the design on, but since I don't know were my wood burning tool is or whether I could do it right, I will stick with what I know, and that is clay and paint.

I'm getting excited! I am itching to get this finished and get to the painting portion, but I better be patient. I do enjoy sculpting and designing with clay so I need to enjoy the journey. After the clay flourishes and design work are done, I will clean everything up, and start painting. I hope to achieve a tooled leather look on the base, at least in part. The rest will be revealed as I go along.

Why Not Wednesday...Friend Share

A long time ago, in a land far away.....oh, no, wait! That was a story I read once....or was it a movie? I really don't remember, and yes it has been a while since I met Suzanne Urban of Smirking Goddess Studios. She first contacted me through ebay asking me to join her newly formed group, American Holiday Artists Ornaments. She had a vision, and saw a need to  fill for collectors of ornaments. We started out with the idea of just creating year round ornaments but had so many fabulous artists join us who did so much more than ornaments that we decided to expand our venue to include all types of holiday art. Thus we became American Holiday Artists. Suzanne has been a powerhouse in keeping our group running, and has sacrificed many, many hours to promote and upgrade our group.
Today I'm spotlighting her as I so admire her ability to create whimsical illustrations and designs. Not only that though, she creates the most incredibly detailed and amazing needle felted figures!

Her dedication to detail and design shows in all of her work. I own several of her little mini paintings done in her unique style, as well as a needle felted bear ornament that is just darling. Wouldn't you just love a children's book with full of Suzanne's delightful work? Learn more about Suzanne at
Suzanne Urban Designs.

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts WIP

The progress continues. I've got maybe a touch up to do on the eyes and then on to the base. I have an idea....not sure if it will work but whatever I do has to balance the piece out and make it so it won't tip over.

I would like to do something that looks like tooled leather on the base. Wish me luck.....:-)

Monday's Muse on Abstract Art

Abstract art has always held a fascination for me. Being such a literal person, abstract pieces are intriguing in their interpretation of life and things found in life. Much of what was found in early art dealt with simple lines, form and geometric shapes to represent a certain subject. There have been several advances in abstract art with terms attached to the styles or format, such as Fauvism and Cubism. Some of the early noted abstract artists were Paul Cezanne, James McNeill Whistler and the most notable Pablo Picasso. This is quite a detailed topic so I will refer you to this article Abstract Art on Wikipedia.

My first attempt at an abstract painting was in high school down in Texas. Our teacher had us go through a stack of magazines to find a photo of something we could create an abstract piece from. I found a majestic picture of what I think was Banff National Park similar to the one above. I had a lot of fun adding multiple colors and lines going this way and that way with paint. It turned out pretty good, I guess it must have been as they framed it and hung it in the school office. You know I never got that painting back. Since then I didn't really do anything abstract in any way until the last 4-5 years when I picked up acrylics and started painting.

I'm not sure how abstract this is, but for me it was a reach outside my normal painting. It was fun to slap on the paint, using different colors and try to depict poppies without much reality. This may be more impressionist than abstract, but you be the judge. 
Have you ever tried to create an abstract painting?

Two WIP's

The journey continues as I work on the traveling doll for PWGL. I have now finished the clay portion of my work. I need to clean her up and get the petals created for her head.

I'm trying something new to enter into the art show in Oregon. Doesn't look much like a horse head yet, but I am slowly getting there. I had no idea it would be so difficult, but this is a challenge I've wanted to do for a while. I've already made some changes to the sides of the cheeks, and created the nostrils, which was no small feat. Working with a plastic horse and photos as my models has been interesting. Check back as there's more to come shortly!

Why Not Wednesday...Sharing a Gourd Artist and Her site.

I've been cruising the internet for inspiration to finish a gourd sculpt I'm doing for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts show in Oregon and I found some fabulous gourd artists online. One of my favorites is Patricia Boyd. Her gourd art is like nothing I've ever seen. She has an eye for form and color, and masterfully executes her style and cultural roots through her work.

Look at the detail and imagery she puts into each piece! Patricia is as nice to communicate with as her work is beautiful. For more of her gorgeous work stop by and see Patricia Boyd

MAY PFATT Marketplace

I've already had one piece sold, but I will share the other two. Created on an egg shaped gourd, this Uncle Sam sports real lambs wool hair.

A mixed media sculpted star shaped Uncle Sam backed with a 5 by 7 inch frame that holds a vintage collage image. See both of these at my Pfatt page!

Happy Mother's Day

My Mother's Day wish for you is that you enjoy all the love and affection of your family. Whether you are a mother in this life, or are waiting to be an eternal mother, you as woman have a loving, nurturing spirit, divinely endowed by God. May each day bring you a bit closer to Heaven on earth as you give to others the love that has been given to you. May you know how much you are loved, and that you will always be loved by someone. Happy Mother's Day.

WIP's Finished!

There are some good things about being home sick, such as getting some art done. Oh no, I didn't call in sick. The other day the twins daddy was up all night losing his dinner and the next morning the twins lost their breakfast all over me. Then the next day I started feeling puny and the twins were still struggling as well as mommy and big sister so we decided it would be best for me to stay home. So, when I can muster up the strength to go sit for a bit, I've been painting and putting together some pieces. This Santa is finally done and will be destined for Reasons to Believe.

Two projects I started a while ago that I finally finished, yay! I wanted to try a bit of  curly wool for hair on my newest Uncle Sam doll. He was fun to do, but now I'm covered in little white hairs from trimming his hair and beard. The other Uncle Sam wall hanging was a foam star I sculpted over and then applied to a hand painted frame with a vintage photo of the Declaration of Independence in the background. These two fellas will be part of my line up for PFATT this month. So I'm done for tonight. It's movie time, which is welcome as I'm ready to just sit and veg. Have a great evening. :-)

Traveling Doll WIP for PWGL

Sculpting is such a relaxing activity, I wish I had discovered it a long time ago.  I continue on with this doll nervously, because I've never been involved in a joint venture like this. As I've tried to make both eyes and sides of the mouth look the same, I had a bit of a vision of God or one of His angels sitting sculpting the next face to be born.

Have you ever considered that we came from a mold or a combination of facial styles that are part of a portfolio of faces? Has anyone ever said that you resemble a certain actor or singer or someone famous? Way back in the early 80's people used to say I looked like Melissa Manchester. When I look at photos of her now I see how refined her nose is compared to mine, her teeth are prettier, and well, we certainly didn't age the same.

I was also compared to Barbara Streisand lol!!!!! Really? Well okay, back then I had the same hair style she did. Well, it's off to fix a bottle and get some work done....have a great day...

The envelope please......

A highly anticipated arrival came yesterday with good news for me. I submitted to be in the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts that will happen in June. This will be my 3rd year and I am so excited!

Last year we didn't have to submit an application if we had been in the show before. This year it was different. The festival is growing and as the letter states artists are submitting work from as far away as Florida and Alabama. This year I will also be helping with hanging the art and other duties as a volunteer. I'm so looking forward to this and can't wait to get back home. In the meantime I better get to work!

Another WIP

Darling isn't she, hee, hee! This little witch will be finished by next week, I hope. :-)

Here's a close up of her toothy grin. She sits at home awaiting her finishing touches while I tend little darlings here at their home. It's time for me to track down Wesley. He was off on a mission to the bedroom, and who knows what mischief he will find when he gets there. Thank goodness Kelcie is still in the pre-crawling stage or I would be chasing both of them. Oh my I see the gate isn't on the stairs yet. Gotta go!!!!

Enchanted Makeovers WIP

I have a lot of ongoing projects that I'm trying to finish or getting going on. This is the first of a series of colored pencil drawings of women in different situations that will go on a collage titled INNER BEAUTY. This collage is for an event sponsored by Enchanted Makeovers, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating havens of hope out of women's shelters. Click on the name to learn more.
Why this setting for the first drawing? To me, a woman shows part of her inner beauty in the way she takes care of her family. Cooking delicious foods to delight our loved ones is a constant way of saying, "I love you and am willing to put in a little time to make something pleasing for you." After the twins go down for a nap I will start on my next scene. Hopefully it will be finished by tomorrow and I can share. Well, back to feeding the wee ones. They are snacking on graham crackers and have created quite a lovely mess....:-) If finger painting with grahams was an art form I would have two masterpieces!

Traveling Doll WIP for PWGL

The Prim & Whimsy Girls decided to create a traveling doll for charity so I signed up to be on the line up. I'm finding that dolls are a lot of fun to create! This doll came to me already put together and my part is to add the facial features and petals as she will be a flower head doll, plus paint those as well as the hands/arms and feet. I was so impressed with the body that Annie of Chickadee Primitives put together! Don't you just love the leaf hands? The next photo of my progress will show the boots with the curly toes.
I started my journey with this doll by mashing and spreading very wet paper clay onto the head. I did a thin layer so the clay would dry. Then to round out the head a bit I also added a piece of crumpled foil to the top and layered over more clay. This is the photo before the addition of clay on top so her head is still a little squat. I will share the next one soon. When this dries I will test for firmness and stability. If all seems good I will start adding the facial features. I think I will probably add one more layer of clay though before that just to make sure. Check back to see how this doll evolves.
Oh, the charity we chose was suggested by Pam Gracia. United Through Reading is an organization dedicated to to unite families facing physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together. Thank you for stopping by today. :-)

Taking time out to try something new....

With all the fabric scraps I have sitting around my home I am always glad to find something new to do with them. Here are two different types of fabric roses, some out of vintage lace, and some out of fabric scraps. These were so fun to do and have a myriad of possibilities. I found the instructions for these at Everyday Chaos. These are so easy you can make a bunch in no time and now sewing skill needed.  Now I'm off to try another new technique. Have fun!

Outsider Art- My newest discovery

I have been wondering about the term "outsider" art for a long time. I stumble across the term as I look for selling venues for my art but never really knew what it was. Here's a definition I found that seems to match the modern idea of what "outsider" art is. Outsider art is the term commonly used to refer to creative works made by people with no formal art training who create work based on their inner experience, without reference to mainstream art practice. 
The piece above was done by a Texas butcher Charles A. A. Dellschau who lived from 1830 to 1923. He had a love of the idea of flight, which showed in his Jules Verne-style flying machines.

I was wondering what to do with that spool of crochet thread I have, but you know, I probably wouldn't do this... Another form of outsider art incorporates items such as you see here. I'm still learning about this form of art, but it appears that not all art labeled "outsider" art is true to the origins of this genre of art. For more information on outsider art Wikipedia has a fascinating page on this topic.  Here's to a creative day!

WIP Candy Cane Santa almost done....

Slow going here as my time has been really limited but I'm determined to get ahead and stay ahead. So here he is, a very fun, but difficult to paint Santa as trying to get around those curves is challenging. I still need to antique and seal him, but other than that, he is done! Whew! A quick but heartfelt thanks to all who stop by and comment. I really do appreciate your kind words. Have a great day!

Inner Beauty

Just as each blossom that springs forth from the earth in glorious beauty, we each have a divine mission to make the world a better place. I recently volunteered to create a piece of art for Enchanted Makeovers, a non-profit organization set up to "make over" women and children's shelters. Often times these places are on such a tight budget that they survive with the bare minimum of furniture and supplies to take care of women fleeing from abusive situations. Terry Grahl, founder of Enchanted Makeovers is a former abuse victim herself, and has seen first hand what women have to subsist in when going through the courageous struggle of breaking free from abuse. This is a subject that touches me deeply for reasons you can learn more about on my personal blog. If you would like to help Terry, and this is free, stop by my Simply Sheryl's blog to learn more.
So Terry asked me to portray Inner Beauty. As I pondered this I thought of the scriptures in Proverbs that talk about a virtuous woman and how she is priced above rubies. How to portray a woman that is loyal, trustworthy, industrious, moral, loving, kind, morally clean, a good friend and so on will be tough. I'm thinking of creating a collage of different images of women doing what they do best. In the center will be a face that shines with light and sweetness. This will be an interesting and perhaps difficult task. I pray I'm up to it and can do the theme of inner beauty justice. I ask for your prayers as well. So often, when I create something that is pleasing to God I can feel His hand guiding mine and I know that I didn't do it on my own.

WIP More Santa figures

I know it seems that I'm stuck in Santa mode way too early, but this year I want to get a jump on things. I have 2 galleries, Reasons to Believe and Missy's Uptown Art in Oregon that want a few of these so I'm trying to be better about having inventory when I need it. I really love creating Santas anyway and these take several steps before they are finished. I can take my gourds and supplies with me easily and when the babies go down for nap time I can get some work done. Today I added eyebrows and the tree as well as one mitten to the large Santa. I will add the other mitten when this step has dried. The ornament Santa gained his tall curly hat. When that is dry I will add another thin layer to give it strength, plus the rest of his hat. Then I will make sure all is smooth and ready to paint. I gesso before I paint.
I'm off to get some planting done while the sun is still out, and then I will head to my studio for some painting before hubby gets home. Have a great night!

What is folk art?

Mattie Lou O'Kelley

I was perusing a magazine from the 1980's that had an article asking the question, "What is folk art?". From what I gather in this article back then there was the start of a revolution in folk art. Up until this time it seems that folk art was considered art of the common man, created by craftspeople not educated towards art. Weather vanes, bird decoys, quilts and the like, if antique could bring prices of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Reverend Howard Finster

Take the case of the man who created a weather vane out of a pine board. He created it to replace one that had been stolen from his barn. After a few years it had weathered and worn to a nice patina. When he sold the farm antiques dealers approached the new owners and one eventually bought the 8 year old weather vane. As an antiques dealer himself he happened to be flipping through a trade magazine and spotted a photo of his weather vane up for sale. He contacted the dealer and found that the piece had been sold at an astounding $7,500 and that the dealer claimed the piece was  an early century piece. There were other examples sited with prices for such pieces of up to $200,000 for a duck decoy and so on. The article went on to point out though that new artists were coming out with work that resembled that of the past. To distinguish between the early American folk art, and the now "contemporary" folk art wasn't always easy and has become increasingly hard as people have become quite adept at reproductions.
Today you see a flood of folk art and primitives on the market, most of it newly made and reproductions. Is it of value? To some yes, and to those who create it of course. The value comes in what the consumer wants. When prices for something such as a carved indian statue went up to triple digit prices most collectors couldn't afford those prices so they started looking for less expensive, but equally well done pieces. Does that lessen the value of the originals and antiques? And is it folk art? I think in today's culture that has changed. What do you think?

WIP for Reasons to Believe

This Santa has been so fun to work on! I love the curly handle on the gourd which said "candy cane" to me the first time I laid my eyes on it. So his hat and the buttons will be peppermint striped when all done. I hope to finish him tonight, but the garden is also calling for my attention. It's all good! This Santa will be destined for Reasons to Believe when he is finished. I do have more of these gourds though thanks to my dear friend Ginny Diezel. Stop by her blog to see what she has been up to! She's been a great artist friend and I love the wisdom she shares.

Rooster

Do you ever just sit down and paint something just because you want to? Well this was one of those pieces. There have been times when I've seen little rooster paintings and told myself that I want to try one some day. So yesterday was the day. He was a fun little project to do.

 He will be one of my PFATT offerings for this month so Saturday will be his debut.  I'm loving getting back to painting so I will be doing more of this sort of thing.